Troy, CBA and LaSalle keep doing their thing. Now that the Suburbans have beaten each other up, they have clearly emerged as the best three teams, especially after LSI took down Colonie and Shaker over the holidays. It would be hard to dispute their dominance of the rankings, although Guilderland is on a tear and very well could be a favorite to get one of the Semi-Final spots at the TU Center in March. Other contenders such as Columbia and Bethlehem have two huge games in the Suburban Council coming up, starting with the one this Friday. Columbia definitely belongs among the leaders but with an up-and-down week with them falling by double-digits to Shaker but then rebounding to beat Colonie, they could fall anywhere from 5-8. Bethlehem will prove they belong in the upper elite if they can take down Shen (1/17), Shaker (1/27) or both when they compete in the cross-divisional games.

CLASS A

1. Green Tech (7-2)

2. Mohonasen (5-5)

3. Bishop Gibbons (4-6)

4. Glens Falls (7-2)

5. Gloversville (6-3)

6. Scotia (7-2)

7. Queensbury (5-3)

8. Johnstown (5-3)

Mohon had a tough week falling to both Shen and Bethlehem, who are both strong Class AA foes. Gibbons fell to LaSalle but put up a great fight. Scotia is back in the thick of things but lost to Gloversville and Glens Falls, so they will need to get retribution later on in the season. Johnstown has fallen off and Queensbury has been very erratic in the Foothills but with so many quality Class A squads in the league, Johnstown has a chance to get right back after it tonight against Glens Falls to get back into the thick of things.

CLASS B

1. Watervliet (8-1)

2. Mekeel Christian (8-0)

3. Stillwater (9-1)

4. Chatham (8-2)

5. Catskill (8-3)

6. Taconic Hills (7-3)

7. Granville (6-4)

8. Schuylerville (5-4)

9. Cohoes (7-4)

10. Ravena (4-4)

Watervliet remains in the top spot followed by Mekeel Christian Academy. Stillwater is pushing the leaders and should be tough in sectionals with their depth. Chatham lost but has enough of a resume to stay towards the top for now. Catskill is back on track and is surging. Schuylerville is primed to have a huge week with games against both Stillwater and Hoosick Falls. With a chance to take down both of the leaders in the league and forge a logjam at the top of the standings, with the Horses securing a place at the table, look for them to have a great week. It is very possible that they could vault into the Top 5 by the next poll. Cohoes lost to Schuylerville last week but took down Mechanicville this week. I think they very well could be in the top 4-5 teams in the area before long.

CLASS C

1. Hoosick Falls (7-1)

2. Greenwich (8-2)

3. Mechanicville (6-3)

4. Lake George (7-1)

5. Canajoharie (9-2)

6. Voorheesville (5-3)

7. Fort Plain (8-3)

8. Rensselaer (6-4)

9. BKW (4-4)

10. Waterford (8-3)

Mechanicville’s loss to Cohoes hurt them, but they still have some big games to respond including a late-season rematch with the Tigers. Voorheesville and Fort Plain are both making a run up the rankings coming out of the Colonial and WAC respectively. Both teams look to be playing their best basketball of the season right now and should factor in sectionals. In the Wasaren, Hoosic Valley slipped this week but Greenwich and Hoosick Falls both held serve to set-up their rematch next week. Hoosic Valley may be back in the mix soon. Rensselaer continues to be tough to evaluate but in the sectionals against schools their own size, they should respond. Remember, they beat BKW who is starting to make some noise in the WAC and is a dangerous first-round opponent for anyone with their huge frontline. Finally, welcome to Waterford, who is undefeated in the CHVL.

CLASS D

1. Sharon Springs (8-1)

2. Argyle (8-1)

3. Fort Ann (7-2)

4. Germantown (6-2)

5. Loudonville Christian (6-4)

Argyle has been on a hot streak since the loss to Lake George, but Sharon Springs’ 7-point loss to undefeated Mekeel, the #2 Class B team, on the road still has me convinced they belong at the top for now. Fort Ann will have to go in to Argyle on February 3rd and take down the Scots to get a top seed in the tournament. That should be a great game! In the CHVL, Germantown is right back in the mix behind Waterford, who is undefeated in the league while Doane Stuart has been doing well despite their loss to Northville. If they can take down Loudonville Christian on 1/27, they should crack the top 5 in Class D before long.

Why is Cohoes still ninth? They beat Mechanicville with ease. I was at the game and it was only close because Mechanicville got a few garbage buckets at the end. Also there are many teams above them (including schuylerville and many others) that they could beat any given night. Almost everyone can shoot and they are quite team oriented from what I’ve seen. Just my opinion Eric what do you think?

Hkg: I almost moved Schuylerville and Cohoes to 4/5 during the ranking but I feel like they need a week. schuylerville lost to Granville and then beat Cohoes so I put them here. now that Schuylerville is all back and Cohoes is in front of Division II, these two teams are looking dangerous down the stretch.

I agree with you about the tough competition in class C this year – much more balanced then in years past. It is possibly that Waterford could run the table in the CHVL and finish 15-3 on the year. I know there are other factors that come into play, but where would you see them for sectional seedings.

I think Guilderland and Bethlehem are 4 and 5 ahead of the North’s Shen and Shaker.

Looking at it based on roster, Guilderland and Bethlehem are both much more complete teams. They have a nice mix of guards and big men. On the other hand, Shaker is completely big man heavy and their guards looked bad against a team that could pressure the ball like Lasalle. Morrison is not really a developed big man. He relies on using his body to get deep position and to get offense rebounds. In the Lasalle game the ball pressure wasn’t allowing Shaker to enter the post in good spots and Morrison looked way out of sync. Shen is nearly the complete opposite. They live and die by the 3. Teams that shoot a lot of 3’s can generally beat or lose to just about anyone depending on if they are falling on a given day.

Looking at it based on results, Guilderland and Bethlehehm still are the class of the Suburban. Guilderland’s average margin in conference is 11 points(plus they have the bulk of their schedule over with having beat Shen and Shaker). Bethlehem’s average margin in the Suburban is 16 points. For Shaker it is just 9 points and for Shen it is 11 (inflated from being Nisky by 49). Clearly average margin isn’t a perfect way to compare teams, but it is at least one objective look.

@avon10, I am not necessarily going to disagree with you about where Bethlehem/Guilderland fall, I just think your rationale is a little flawed.

You say based on roster Guilderland is more complete team. I don’t agree. Dobbs accounts for about 35% of G’land scoring, is one of the top 3 best players in the section and can shoot the lights out. Cerutti is a nice player and will get better, but that’s about it for balance. Don’t confuse having arguably the best player in the league with balance. The ONLY reason G’land is where they are is Dobbs. Without him they are a .500 team. Bethlehem appears to be more balanced.

About Shaker, they could be one of the most balanced teams in the Suburban. They have more distribution in scoring than virtually any other team. Furthermore, they are coached to play inside out. Why wouldn’t they, with the big guys they have. I have to question if you have even seen Morrison play, if you say he is not “really a developed big man”. He is virtually unstoppable in the low post, has many moves and outstanding touch with his right and left hands. Ask any Suburban coach who has played against him and ask them if he’s developed. If you were at the Lasalle game, you would know that Morrison sat much of that game in foul trouble. He was out of sync, because he wasn’t on the floor.

I will agree that Shen will live and die by the three. As an example they beat Shaker when Shea and Molloy combine for 52 points, or they lose when they combine for 19 as they did against G’land. If Shen shoots the way they shot against Shaker, they would have beaten G’land too.

The bottom line is, you don’t have clear cut rankings 4-8 because there is a lot of parity in the Suburban. That may be about to change because Shaker gets a 1st team all star back this week in Casey Hall. These rankings are fun and provide for great debate, but ultimately the boys on the court will decide in the end who is better than who. The second half should be fun!

I am curious as to what are the rules and guidelines are in regards to these private schools in the capital region when it comes to recruiting players from public schools?
Are there also rules imposed as far as playing when you do transfer to a new school for the athlete?

Anyone have info on this or is available somewhere online to review so we can all maybe understand it better?

I agree with you on Guilderland. Dobbs obviously take an extremely high percentage of shots for them (with good reason). I think Gaines and DuBose are decent enough role players that can defend and rebound (something that rarely gets talked about on this site). You’re certainly right that Bethlehem is more balanced than Guilderland though.

As for Morrison, I saw him play this year against Lasalle and last year against Bethlehem and Mohon. This year, he missed 4 or 5 easy shots in the paint before he got into foul trouble against Lasalle. He has a very long wingspan and uses his body well, but he seemed slow and a step behind Norris and Burns. He also wasn’t in foul trouble by accident, he picked up fouls quickly on both offense and defense. Last year the two Shaker games I went to had to have been their two worst games of the year apart from CBA during Sectionals. Bethlehem may have had the biggest frontcourt in the section and Morrison and Hall combined for I think 2 field goals if I remember correctly. I could be wrong, but what I’ve seen if you have size to defend Morrison he is not someone you can just dump the ball into the post to and clear out (in his defense there aren’t too many bigs like that in the Suburban in general). The Mohon game Shaker scored just 25 points in what was an extremely ugly game.

Still, the weakness of Shaker will be their guards. Lasalle’s guards (Erickson and Reed) put a lot of pressure on Duffey, Yakel, Friend, etc. and they did not respond well. Earlier in the season it seemed like people were putting Shaker up with CBA and Troy. Seeing the CBA/Troy game, the kind of pressure Lott, Leppanen, Burrell, and Dobere is unmatched by any other teams in the section. We talk a lot about offense, but the defenses of CBA (man to man) and Troy (2-3 zone) put them on a different level.

once shaker gets casey hall back it is over for the rest of the suburban council. there is nobody in the suburban council that can guard him. he was an all-star last year and if he wasnt injured this year i say he would’ve been the suburban council mvp. all i’m saying is. once casey hall is back shaker isnt losing again.

I disagree with comment #12 regarding private school’s illegal recruiting. There are many reasons students attend private schools. These schools have good education programs that may fit the needs of a student. For atheletics, maybe a student transfer to get more playing time or a chance to be a starter because some schools are flooded with talent or a coach may favor other kids. Just because you transfer, it does not guarantee sucess and it cost money. Finally private schools like cba win, but public schools have as much sucess, in football-Shen, in basketball troy, albany, and sch’dy.

wow, glad to hear his senior season will not go to waste so to speak, I sure hope so as he def. adds alot to think about going towards sectionals!!! His presence will make Morrison a better player, IMO…I liked their high/low game last year

A comment on transferring atheletes. Some public school have benefited from transfers like this year troy’s hoop team so its not just private schools. Now I believe in transferring rules because some students including my daughter have had their atheletic dreams destroyed because of a coach who play the favoritism game or plays a player who related to coaches or personal family or friends rather than the more deserving and talented player. You only go through high school once in life and I believe a student athete should have options instead of sitting the bench when he or she could be a star elsewhere.

I disagree with # 17. Bethlehem at home without Casey Hall playing, the Eagles win. With Hall, it makes for a great game. Shaker has shown some chink in their armor when they venture out of the North. Anyway, as stated earlier, the boy’s out on the court will decide in the end.

Also, let’s not be delusional, CBA and Troy (La Salle?) are at a whole different level.

Glens Falls 2 loses came to a couple of pretty good AA teams , Guilderland by 4 and Columbia by 6 . Big game in Gloversville next Friday . Mohon – GF matchup might need three refs and shoulder pads if they were to meet in sectionals .

Casey hall’s first game is against bethlehem. and with casey hall i believe they will win. my earlier statement was regarding just to the suburban council. i believe that with casey hall shaker is the best team in the suburban council. And i agree that CBA, and Troy are out of shakers leauge. But with Casey hall shaker can beat LaSalle.